Warning: This post contains spoilers for Weapons!Zach Cregger’s Weapons has become the most talked-about horror project of the summer, but it somehow still feels like there’s more to unpack. The movie is filled with rich subtext and dense social commentary that effectively catches the audience’s attention, and much of it requires several viewings to catch. There are several horror movies still coming in 2025, but it’s hard to imagine any beating Weapons.

Some of the biggest talking points to emerge from the film include the mysterious ᴀssault rifle in the sky, the odd way the missing children run, and, of course, Aunt Gladys. After nearly two weeks in theaters, the discussion surrounding Weapons still isn’t slowing down.

Weapons does a great job of keeping the viewer in the dark for the majority of the film, withholding the answers to the central mystery of Maybrook’s missing children, but without ever feeling like it’s holding itself back. This is a very difficult feat to achieve, but Cregger does so by using subtle foreshadowing throughout the story to tease that major Weapons ending twist.

Weapons’ Allusions To Parasites Could Explain Gladys’ Motives

Although Weapons seems like a fairly simple story of witchcraft and possession on the surface, Cregger actually manages to weave some very rich and astute commentary into the subtext of his screenplay. Much of the horror that’s on display in Weapons can be read in several different ways, with its dark imagery potentially serving as an allegory for something much more real and important.

One of the most interesting theories about Weapons is that Gladys is some kind of demonic parasite who latches onto her victims and gradually saps the life out of them to feed herself. This seems to be evidenced by her plot to capture as many children as possible, which she believes will help bring her back to full health.

The fact that these children remain affected following Gladys’ death at the end of Weapons proves that she’s certainly sapped away some of their life force, lending credence to the idea that she was essentially “feeding” off them in the basement. Additionally, there’s a lot of parasitic imagery in Weapons that seems to be hinting towards Gladys’ exploitative nature.

The most obvious allusion to parasites is through Ms. Gandy’s classroom, where the term is clearly written on the chalkboard, and Justine explicitly asks the children if they know about any types of parasitic creatures. This seems like a throwaway line at first, but upon rewatch, it’s clearly a hint about what’s going to happen to those children.

Additionally, Marcus and his husband can be seen watching a TV documentary about cordyceps, a type of parasitic fungus that feeds off its host. This scene directly preceding Gladys’ arrival at their house isn’t a coincidence; Cregger is obviously trying to frame Gladys as a leeching, demanding enтιтy that harms those around her.

There are many lingering questions about who Gladys really is, whether she’s actually related to Alex or whether she’s a kind of demonic creature who latches onto his family, and this parasitic imagery could help to answer them. When analyzed through this lens, it’s easy to see how Cregger’s story isn’t really one about witchcraft at all, but rather dysfunctional families and the weight of generational trauma.

Weapons’ Mention Of Parasites Explains The Film’s Key Themes

Although Weapons mentions parasites several times, the film doesn’t necessarily suggest that Gladys is literally, biologically a parasite. She’s more of a metaphorical one; a person who sustains herself by manipulating and exploiting others while hiding in plain sight. This raises some interesting questions about what, exactly, Cregger is trying to convey through this story.

The director’s portrayal of families and domestic dissonance is particularly interesting, and it runs much deeper than Gladys’ storyline. Justine and Paul’s relationship is constantly on the brink, Archer’s marriage is falling apart while he struggles to convey affection to his son, and Alex has a fractured dynamic with the other children at his school.

The whole town is flooded with dysfunctional families and unhealthy relationships, and Gladys can easily be understood as a manifestation of this. It’s no coincidence that the only two healthy relationships we see in the film, Alex’s parents and Marcus and his husband, are also the only ones that we see Gladys disrupt with her witchcraft.

Gladys is a manifestation of evil in Weapons, but it’s not necessarily demonic or religious evil; rather, a very real kind of evil that manifests through trauma, grief, and dysfunction in everyday families. Amy Madigan’s Oscar-worthy performance really leans into the silly, melodramatic side of her character, but there’s a real thematic depth to Gladys that gets under the audience’s skin.

Understanding Gladys as this disharmonious parasite really elevates much of Weapons’ writing, highlighting the subtext of trauma and generational weight that Cregger is seemingly trying to convey. This reading frames Gladys as a physical manifestation of all the evil and darkness that goes unchecked in everyday life, working its way through the family dynamic – often from the inside out.